Recently I had a conversation with a CEO friend who confessed he was struggling with a member of his leadership team who openly expressed his political views at work and on social media. Not only were the leader’s views divergent from his own, he was afraid politics in the workplace were creating disruption. Should he fire the individual? Or create a policy forbidding political discussion?

I am fascinated by the topic of how we exist in and lead organizations in a world where political and economic views become increasingly polarizing, and it has come up a lot lately, so I probed for information. How was the leader’s performance? Stellar, he said. Was this person a dedicated team member? Yes. Was he harassing others or just expressing his view? He assured me that he simply talked about politics, and didn’t threaten anyone.

With those basics out of the way, I next asked him about his company’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. He assured me the organization had a robust plan and was doing everything it could to create an inclusive culture. He seemed surprised when I pointed out that a truly inclusive culture involves not only respect and equity for people from different races, genders, orientations or abilities — it also includes respect for all individuals’ political points of view, even if the leader does not personally agree. 

In recent years, opinions about political and economic issues have become increasingly divisive, affecting relationships among family members, friends and co-workers. It can be difficult and uncomfortable to navigate relationships when views are diametrically opposed and emotionally charged. In the workplace, it might seem that creating policies banning political talk or only hiring staff who have similar views is a good way to prevent conflict. But shutting down dialogue is antithetical to the concept of freedom of speech and inclusion, and discrimination in hiring is illegal.

What’s more, forbidding political expression at work is actually bad for business. A recent Harvard Business Review article titled “Don’t Ban ‘Politics’ at Work” asserts that banning or even discouraging diversity of political thought can hurt an organization. 

For a leader to consider banning or discouraging political speech or expression may be a sign that your organization is not able to handle challenge or conflict. In today’s world of rapid innovation, diversity of thought and experience, as well as the ability to quickly align and adapt, is key for business success. Politely and constructively working through disagreements, or guiding your team to do so, is an increasingly important skill for leaders. 

“Instead of instituting a ban or seeking to diminish voices seeking political change, leaders would be better served by building a culture that handles political differences in the workplace more productively,” said the authors of the Harvard Business Review article.

Leaders have an important role to play in promoting civil discourse in the workplace. Building a culture that handles differences well and fosters civil dialogue is part of every leader’s role. But what does civil discourse actually mean? The word civility comes from the Latin “civitas,” which means “relating to citizens.” Over time the word has come to refer to formal politeness and courtesy in behavior or speech and implies respect for our fellow citizens, the law, norms of behavior and institutions — including business. Working through disagreements, or respectfully agreeing to disagree is part of being a good citizen at work. Effective leaders serve as role models in how they communicate, treat others, foster truly inclusive cultures and respond to conflicts — political or otherwise.

So what did I advise my CEO friend? In this case, I simply listened and asked questions. In the end, he decided that to be consistent with his own values and commitment to inclusion, his role as a leader was to improve communication and to promote tolerance within his organization. He said that would need to start with him at the top, even if that would not be easy. His soul-searching and courage were signs of a true leader, the kind that inspires people to move forward, together.